Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Gunners goners in Europe?

Ahead of the match in Athens, I thought I'd set out my stall on how Arsenal and others are likely to perform. And I can't see Arsenal winning the tournament.
The defence lacks strength in depth, both in personnel where if Campbell or Touré were injurerd the team would really suffer and on the pitch, where the bulk of the defensive onus is placed on the centre backs and Vieira. There isn't enough defensive capacity in the rest of the team to sustain a successful European campaign. The teams that best meet those values are Chelsea and Juventus, with Milan and Manchester United being other contenders.
In the league it's different however. I can't see anyone beating Arsenal, even when they suffer injuries; they score goals from every part of the pitch. I realize this was the case two years ago, but this time Arsenal's rivals aren't strong enough to capitalize on any slips.
But the managers who have made the biggest impact in the Premiership remain Moyes and Santini. Moyes has demonstrated what you can achieve with little skill -- he's ideally qualified for the Scotland job -- while Santini has turned Spurs around by doing the blindingly obvious effectively. Why Pleat and Hoddle failed to realise that the Spurs midfield couldn't run and that the defence was a shambles is beyond me, but Santini has addressed both from the outset. He's such a miserable git though.

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